Caracterización funcional del factor de transcripción Wor1 y su implicación en la adaptación al estado comensal en el patógeno oportunista Candida Albicans

Abstract

C. albicans is a commensal microorganism, but also an opportunistic pathogen that produces superficial infections, and in more severe situations, systemic infections with a high mortality rate. Given the endogenous origin of many of these disseminated infections, there is a growing interest in determining the factors that allow this fungus to establish as a commensal. In the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) the fungus is exposed to signals and conditions that generate an adaptive response essential for its establishment. One of these changes is an increase in the expression of WOR1 (White-Opaque Regulator 1), the main transcription factor that regulates the transition from white cell to opaque cell, but also participates in the epigenetic transition that these cells undergo after passage through the GIT. Understanding the factors that could be regulating the commensal state is essential to design new strategies to prevent and combat infections caused by this fungus...